From adversity Springs Opportunity
25th November, 2008

You've probably heard the saying before, from adversity springs opportunity. Or perhaps a similar one...every cloud has a silver lining. Well last weekend these sentiments had great relevance in two quite different situations. What they had in common was the extreme weather...and a positive outcome that wasn't immediately obvious.

The weather in Melbourne last weekend was very unseasonable - cold, very windy and wet. Add in the bursts of hail on Saturday and it was an indoors kind of day, and not conducive for successful outdoor events. So imagine our gloom as organisers of an outdoor, overnight event that relies on great spirit and atmosphere as part of its formula. Mother nature cared little that it was a large fundraising event in aid of the Cancer Council. As it stood the event loomed as being a flop, and losing the community support built up over years.

But hope springs eternal and in the midst of this adversity we made some quick decisions and found an opportunity to adapt and mould the event around our constraints, inspired our participants to continue their support and eventually conducted a wholly positive event that still achieved its goals in every respect. At the heart of the successful transformation was a conviction to support the principle upon which the event was based, which remained in tact regardless of the shape or form that it took.

A further impact of the weather hit the Gatorade triathlon series race, which morphed into a duathlon held in cool and very windy conditions. Suddenly the definition of the challenge had changed, requiring a change in mental preparation...however, at the end of the day it was still a race. But many people couldn't cope with the change - it threw them too far off their pre-defined mindset that it became unacceptable. One guy simply said "I don't do duathlons...". What the?? Are you an athlete or what?

However the majority still fronted up and raced hard. First timers and experienced campaigners alike. When the winds of change are blowing...some seek shelter while other build windmills. There were lots of windmills out there on Sunday, driven by the conviction to do the event regardless of the shape it took. Good on them.

Humans are amazing in their capacity to adapt to change - whether it's large or small, chosen or forced upon them. Often it's the people with open attitudes who see the biggest opportunities in changing circumstances.